World's largest solar park in Karnataka is now fully operational

Updated : 2020-01-27 19:39:39

The world's largest solar power park, the Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka, has now become entirely operational. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal took to Twitter to share the news saying: "India Takes Lead in Clean Energy: World’s largest solar park at Pavagada in Karnataka is now operational. Generating 2050 MW of clean energy, the park is located on land leased from farmers, utilising the drought-hit area & adding to farmers’ income."

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Located in Tumakuru district, the project has been developed by the Karnataka Solar Park Development Corporation Limited (KSPDCL), a joint venture between the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and the Karnataka Renewable Energy (KREDL). (Image Source: Chief Executive Officer KSPDCL)

Initially, the plan was to build a solar park of 2,000 MW capacity spanning over 13,000 acres. However, an additional 50 MW capacity was added to the project. (Image Source: Chief Executive Officer KSPDCL)

KSPDCL was expecting the entire 2,050 MW park to be operational by December 2019. (Image Source: Chief Executive Officer KSPDCL)

Out of the total 2,050 MW capacity, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) implemented the work for 600 MW of solar PV projects, SECI implemented 200 MW, while KREDL implemented 1,250 MW. (Representative Image -- Source: Reuters)

The Pavagada Solar Park was conceptualised in February 2015, and development of the park began in January 2016. It is divided into eight blocks of 250 MW each and has dedicated high voltage supply lines, pooling stations, and a pooling substation for evacuation. (Representative Image -- Source: Reuters)

A unique feature of the Pavagada Solar Park is that the land used is drought-hit and has been leased from farmer. The KSPDCL is paying farmers Rs 21,000/acre a year with a five percent escalation every two years. (Representative Image -- Source: Reuters)

According to Mercom India's Solar Project Tracker, Karnataka is the top solar generating state in India, with about 7.1 GW of large-scale projects are in operation and about 1 GW of projects in the pipeline. The state boasts of renewable share of 62% in its power mix, followed by thermal power and nuclear with 35 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. The share of solar in the total installed power capacity is 22 percent. (Image Source: Chief Executive Officer KSPDCL)